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Boris Johnson has pledged support to Ukraine after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky – but the ‘partygate’ scandal followed him to Kyiv as he was asked ‘why should the international community take your diplomacy seriously?’

The prime minister warned Russian troops on the Ukrainian border was possibly the greatest act of hostility ‘towards the Ukraine in our lifetimes’ during a press conference today.

He added: ‘It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view it would also be for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well.’

But when the press in Ukraine were invited to ask questions, the first question was: ‘Why should the international community take your diplomacy seriously when you’re so preoccupied at home? When you put talking to MPs ahead of talking to President Putin?’

A call between the Prime Minister and the Russian president was due to take place yesterday afternoon, but had to be rescheduled after the long-awaited Sue Gray report found ‘failures of leadership and judgment’.

It is understood to have slipped to today after Moscow reportedly rejected a request for a brief delay.

Responding to questioning, Mr Johnson insisted his focus was ‘on delivering on the priorities of the British people and they include ensuring that we are secure in our relations with our friends and allies and that our friends and allies are secure’.

He added: ‘I think there’s a great deal of concern in our country about what we’re seeing on the border with Ukraine.

‘I think it’s absolutely vital that the UK government should step up now, bring together our friends and partners in the west in the way that we are and prepare the package of economic sanctions that we have.

‘As you know, we’ve intensified them now and the package that we’re bringing forward – the new legislation – will enable us to pinpoint commercial interests of Russia, strategic commercial interests of Russia in a very great way – as well as individual Russian commercial interests.

‘And I think it’s vital that in Moscow they understand that there will be automaticity in the way that we apply these sanctions. So that the minute there is a further incursion into sovereign Ukrainian territory, then those sanctions will apply.’

Boris Johnson said he would publish “everything that we can” once the inquiries into the alleged breaking of coronavirus rules in No 10 has been finalised.

Questioned on whether he would commit to publishing the full Sue Gray inquiry – including the 300 images handed included as part of the probe – the Prime Minister replied: ‘Yes, of course we’ll publish everything that we can as soon as the process has been completed, as I said yesterday.’

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